


Escape the Night: The Sorceress

by Dede42



Series: Escape the Night Season 2 [13]
Category: Escape the Night (Web Series)
Genre: Bittersweet Ending, Crown, Explanations, Funerals, Gem - Freeform, Murder, Prophecy, Victorian
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-06
Updated: 2020-07-15
Packaged: 2021-03-03 00:26:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 11
Words: 15,115
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24045871
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dede42/pseuds/Dede42
Summary: The surviving YouTubers have managed to obtain the Crown of Oblivion, but there is one more gem to get, and it's up to Dawn to figure out how to summon the Light that is apparently inside her. Can they get the final gem and defeat the Sorceress before sunrise?
Series: Escape the Night Season 2 [13]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1481360
Comments: 46
Kudos: 5





	1. PROLOGUE: DESTROYING INNOCENCE

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, world and welcome back to Escape the Night!
> 
> The final gem has been retrieved and the crown has been found. Now, can the survivors stop the Sorceress and escape before sunrise? Time to find out. Onward!

**PROLOGUE: DESTROYING INNOCENCE**

*****

Over a century ago, a young woman named Riley had become sick of being a lowly pleasant girl in the village that she lived in, especially since she was constantly being mistreated by the other villagers, and even by her own family.

So she sought out the darkest knowledge in order to become more, even it if meant killing others to do it.

Finding a spell, she figured out how to separate her good half from herself and locked the goodness in a glass box, and by doing this, she could now take the final step in becoming an all-powerful sorceress and make those who’d wronged her, _pay._

*****

Trapped in the glass box, Riley, who had long blonde hair, blue eyes, and wearing only a pale pink dress with no shoes or socks, could only watch as her dark half, who was naked saved for some dark makeup covering her eyes and the blood of innocent people staining her body, summoned forth the Cursed God.

_`“Sorceress,”`_ said the demonic voice of the Cursed God from a purple portal that was swirling high in the sky above the fire that the Sorceress was kneeling before. Also below the portal were two young men from the village that were tied to a tree branch, having been sacrificed mere moments ago. _`“Your offer has been accepted by the ancient ones.”`_

The Sorceress spread her arms as the Curse God’s magic encircled her, and she gasped as it flowed into her body, making her eyes glow purple.

In the glass box, Riley screamed in pain as the evil magic struck her repeatedly, forcing her to her knees, but her dark half didn’t care, she was getting what she wanted.

Once the dark magic was inside her, the Sorceress bowed before the fire and the Cursed God spoke again. _`“You are now the Sorceress of Oblivion in this world,”`_ it announced. _`“Death will follow in your wake.”`_

Sitting up, the Sorceress looked over at the box, where Riley was forcing herself to her feet and made eye contact. “I have been poor and hated all my life,” she sneered as she stood up and faced the portal to the realm that the Cursed God called home, pulling on a black cloak to cover her body. “I have no love for the people of this world.”

_`“Claim your crown,”`_ said the Cursed God, pleased with her declaration.

The Sorceress turned as a purple orb appeared on a tree stump a few feet from where she was standing and it quickly transformed into the Crown of Oblivion, which had ten gems of different colors embedded on it.

She walked toward the crown and was about to reach for it when suddenly a black man in brown armor and an Asian woman with a scar over one eye, also wearing brown armor and wielding a sword, appeared from a golden portal.

They both had the symbol for the Society Against Evil on their armor, and they were there to stop the Sorceress. The man, named Roanoke, snatched up the crown while his partner, named Katsumi, kept the Sorceress at bay with her sword.

“As long as the Society Against Evil stands,” Roanoke declared, “the Crown will _never_ be yours. The gems will separate. And only the souls from the future will have the power to rebuild the Crown. But know this, among them will be a Light-bearer who will stop you before you can take the power.” He then tossed the Crown into the air, and Katsumi sliced it, shattering the crown and scattering the gems across the ground, many of them disappearing.

Screaming, the Sorceress dropped to her knees and tried to retrieve the gems, but it was too late, and all she had in her hands were the shattered pieces of the Crown itself.

Enraged, she glared at the two Society members as she got back up, tossing down the broken shards, and as both Roanoke and Katsumi prepared for battle, she screamed again, and charged at them.

No one knows if either Roanoke or Katsumi survived the battle, but it was clear that the Sorceress _had_ survived, and, after killing the original owner, had placed a spell over the estate that the mansion was located on to ensure that she would be protected from the Society Against Evil.

There, she waited for the right time to lure in those who would be able to rebuild the Crown of Oblivion, and allow her to fulfill her evil plan for conquering the world in the name of the Cursed God.


	2. CHAPTER ONE: ONE MORE GEM

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, world and welcome back to Escape the Night!
> 
> It's time for the first chapter of the final episode. Onward!

**CHAPTER ONE: ONE MORE GEM**

*****

In a treehouse some distance from the mansion, Riley was still trapped in the glass box, and yet, she knew that there were those in the mansion who could release her. _‘Please let them find me,’_ she thought having seen the souls from the future and the Light-bearer whenever they had been outside, even though they hadn’t see her…yet. _‘Please let them find me and release me from my imprisonment.’_

*****

Nine hours ago, Dawn Hatcher and eleven YouTubers had arrived at the mansion, having been invited there, apparently, by Joey Graceffa, only to discover that Joey was being held prisoner by a nest of vampires and the one they served, the Sorceress. In that time, only four of the original group were still alive:

Lauren had become vampire food after being placed under a sleep spell. Jesse had become spider food. DeStorm had been executed by members of the Dark Army. Liza had been killed by a blue harpy when she and her friends had tried to pull a fast one on the Sorceress. Artie had been turned to stone by Medusa. Tana had been killed when Joey, Dawn, and Andrea had had to choose who to betray. Gabbie had had her heart ripped out. Alison, a vampire who’d been helping them, had been ripped apart by werewolves in order to protect her friends. And both Alex and Ernie had been killed in the Dark Dimension.

That was nine hours ago.

*****

Now the surviving four: Joey, Dawn, Andrea, and Tyler were all sitting on the couch and staring at the Crown of Oblivion, which had been hidden inside the gem map that whole time, and with it, they now had the means to defeat the Sorceress, break her spell, and return to 2017.

“What do we do next?” Joey wondered while cradling the crown in his hands. “How do we defeat this awful Sorceress woman? Because I am _done_ with her."

“So am I,” Dawn agreed. “She’s put us through _hell_ , and I’m ready to take her _down_.”

"Apparently, all you need is the Crown of Oblivion," Tyler guessed. "This is _it,_ right? It _must_ be it.”

Andrea examined the empty slots that were in the crown and something occurred to her. “It looks like these are the same shape as the crystals,” she pointed out.

Joey and Dawn both glanced at the gems on the map and back at the crown, realizing that she was right. “Holy cow!”

Setting the crown on the table, the quartet immediately went to work on carefully removing the gems from the map and placing them in their proper slots on the crown. When Andrea accidentally dropped one of the gems, Joey scolded her, but without heat. “Careful with the gems.” And she stuck her tongue out of them, earning some much-needed laughter.

As they were putting the last of the gems into the crown, they all happened to glance up at the Sorceress’ portrait, and then they did a double-take, looking back at it when they realized that something had _changed_ about the portrait.

Until now, it’d only been the evil woman, but now behind her was a blonde girl, who looked to be trapped in a glass case, and her hands were pressed on the glass, almost as if she was begging them to free her from her imprisonment.

“Who’s that behind the Sorceress?” Joey wondered, frowning.

“No idea,” said Dawn, forehead furrowed. “But she definitely _wasn’t_ there before.”

Tyler nodded. “That’s new.”

“You sure?” Andrea asked.

“No, she's never been there," Joey agreed. "And it looks like she's in some sort of, like, casing or something.”

Andrea glanced at the trapped girl again. “She looks a bit like me,” she remarked.

“Andrea, she doesn’t look _anything_ like you,” Dawn pointed out. “Plus, she’s blonde and you’re not.”

“Okay, everything's not about _you,_ missy,” Joey teased.

Andrea smirked in return. “But it is _._ ” And she grinned as the trio all made faces at her before chuckling. Being _so close_ to _finally_ getting out of there, they were all getting a little silly, and that wasn’t entirely a bad thing after going through hell. Especially for Dawn and Joey as this was their second time going through said hell and they were _so_ ready for it to be over.

“Omigod,” Joey said once the last gem was in place and he picked up the crown again. “This looks _beautiful._ Even though each one of these gems represents one of our friends, like…" He grinned. "We _did_ this." He looked down at the crown and noticed something. "Are we missing one?”

And sure enough, a central slot on the front of the crown was still empty. “Yeah, but this slot is shaped differently from the others,” Dawn remarked. “So, where is _that_ particular gem?”

Tyler poked at a ruby brooch that Joey had been wearing the whole time. “I always thought _this_ was something,” he commented.

Joey gave him a skeptical look. “This?”

“Yeah.”

“This,” Joey stated, “is called a brooch.”

Tyler shrugged. “It’s cute, honey.”

“Ok, play nice, boys,” said Dawn with an eye roll and both Joey and Tyler snickered. “Children, I’m _surrounded_ by children,” she muttered and her friends all snickered again. “Shut up.”

Joey looked back at the empty slot on the crown, and he began to feel frustrated if they had to go on another insane search to find the remaining gem after all that they’d been through. “I swear," he growled, "if there's another thing missing that we need to find…another gem…" He glared around the room. "I'm going to murder someone.”

“Well, that someone is going to be the Sorceress,” Dawn stated. “She’s the reason we’ve been through hell… _again,_ and she’s the one whose going to pay if someone has to die find the final gem.” She’d had had enough, and her nonviolence rule was about to be put to the test _very_ soon if she had anything to say about it.

Just then, Andrea noticed that a box had opened behind them and she pointed it out. “Look, that box is open.”

Putting down the crown, Joey ran to the box and found a note inside, which he read after sighing with relief since the instructions were pretty straightforward and nonviolent for a change.

“‘To complete the crown, the center stone must be recovered’,” he read aloud. “‘Four from the future must stand as one on a high place in the foyer. Their leader must place the crown upon their head, the Light-bearer must summon the Light, and the stone will appear. The four cannot separate until it has touched the ground’.” He glanced at Dawn. “That must be the Light inside you, Donny.”

“Yeah, a Light that I really don’t know how to summon,” Dawn pointed out, worried. “This whole ‘Light-bearer’ business is just _too_ confusing.”

“Maybe,” said Andrea, recalling something. “But after we defeated the Ice Queen and had failed to get the gem, you vowed that when you next saw the Sorceress that you were going to kill her yourself, and you started glowing with a white light.”

“Yeah, you did,” Joey agreed.

Tyler looked between them, confused. “Uh, _when_ was this?” he asked.

Dawn sighed. “Back on the Path of Betrayal,” she explained. “It was shortly after we had to betray Tana and took out the Ice Queen, but didn’t get the gem. I was _so_ upset that I made that vow and the next thing I know, I was glowing like a lightbulb. But it only lasted for a few seconds.” She then realized something important when it clicked in her mind. “Wait, maybe the Light is connected to my emotional state, and I was feeling anger at the time. Righteous anger actually.”

“And that might be how you can summon the Light for us to get the final gem,” said Joey, putting down the note and went to get the crown. “Focusing on the right emotional state should help all of us, especially if we hold hands.”

“Sharing the Light once I summon it could make it stronger,” Dawn agreed, thinking. “Well, it’s worth a shot if it means _finally_ returning to 2017. Andrea, Tyler, what do you both think?”

Tyler nodded. “I say go for it.”

Andrea also nodded. “Yeah, let’s go for it.”

Seeing it as their best plan, once Joey had the crown, they all hurried out of the lounge to go to the foyer, and to get the final gem.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One more gem and no death? Yes! Bye for now! R&R everyone!


	3. CHAPTER TWO: USED AGAIN!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, world and welcome back to Escape the Night!
> 
> There's just one gem left to find for the crown. Onward!

**CHAPTER TWO: USED AGAIN!**

*****

Reaching the foyer, the quartet crossed it to reach the stairs, and at the top of the stairs, they turned so that they could see the foyer below.

“Ok,” Joey said, taking a deep breath. “So I place this on my head?”

Tyler nodded. “I think so.”

Joey nodded and placed the Crown of Oblivion on his head, noting that Andrea was looking a bit jealous, but he ignored her, and he looked at Dawn, who was looking nervous since it was now up to her to summon the Light that had been hinted at repeatedly during the night. “You’re up, Donny.”

“Ok, let’s see if I can really do this,” Dawn replied and shut her eyes, concentrating on the right thoughts and emotions. _‘Please, please if you’re_ really _inside me, please come out and help us so we can defeat the Sorceress and_ finally _be able to go home.’_ She then felt a sensation go through her body, and when she heard her friends gasp, she opened her eyes and saw that she was glowing with a white light. “Guys, hold hands!”

Joey and Tyler immediately took her hands, and Andrea took Joey’s other hand. They all couldn’t help but gasp as the white light engulfed them, and they all were feeling stronger and cleaner, which meant any darkness inside them was being removed. They all grinned at each other, and then Andrea saw something green starting to glow between the cupped hands of a stone angel that was high above the foyer.

“Look!”

“That’s it!”

“It’s the gem!”

As much as they wanted to run down and grab it, they knew that they had to remain together until the gem reached the floor. They watched eagerly as the green gem floated toward the floor, glowing brightly, and they were feeling hopeful that this was it. Unfortunately, when the gem was halfway to the floor, the front door glowed purple for a moment, and opened to reveal the Sorceress as she stepped into the foyer.

“Oh no,” Joey gasped, and when the Sorceress started reaching for the descending gem, fear and anger gripped his heart. “Oh, no. Oh, no.What are you doing?”

“All this time, it’s been _right_ here,” the Sorceress gloated, her eyes fixed on the descending gem.

“We _defeated_ you!” Dawn shouted. “We have the crown! No!”

The Sorceress ignored them and she snatched the gem out of the air.

Dawn felt a jab of pain shoot through her chest, and she gasped as the Light disappeared, her friends were the only reason why she didn’t collapsed to the floor. “No…”

“Dawn, what happen to the Light?” Joey asked, concerned as they kept her on her feet.

“It’s still inside me,” Dawn wheezed, clutching at her chest with one hand because of the pain, “but it retreated. I – I lost focus.”

They were about to face the Sorceress again when Joey and Dawn both froze when they heard a clicking sound, and two things made out of cold metal were pressed against the back of their necks, and both Tyler and Andrea’s faces went white with fear.

“Take it off,” Cash ordered.

“Don’t try anything, Light-bearer,” Midas ordered.

“Cash, Midas,” Joey and Dawn both whispered as they slowly turned, their hands in the air to face the Confederate General and the Greek king, and Joey slowly removed the crown from his head while Tyler and Andrea also turned, raising their own hands.

“Nice and easy,” Cash said with a sneer as Joey reluctantly placed the Crown of Oblivion in his hand.

“You’re both fools to serve the Sorceress,” Dawn snapped, glowering at them and flinched when Midas pressed his blade against her neck.

“You best keep silent from this moment on, Light-bearer,” Midas advised her. “Wouldn’t want to lose that pretty head of yours.” He smirked when she glared at him in a way that would probably have left him dead five times over if the saying “If looks could kill” was true. “Still, it’s nice to see you one last time,” he added, removing his sword and both he and Cash headed for the stairs.

Tyler couldn’t believe that this was happening to them. “We earned that fair and square!” he snapped.

Cash pushed him aside with his gun. “Shut your mouth and get out of my way, boy,” he ordered and both he and Midas headed down the stairs with the crown, and at the bottom of the stairs, the Sorceress was waiting eagerly with the green gem.

The quartet lowered their hands and went to the railing, glaring down at the trio, furious that this was happening after playing the stupid game.

“We played by your rules!”

“You cheated!”

“That crown’s rightfully ours!”

Cash ignored the shouts and presented the crown to the Sorceress, who smiled evilly as she took it from her lieutenant, and the four survivors suddenly realized that she’d been using them to find the gems _and_ the crown this whole time.

“No,” Joey whispered, realizing what was about to happen now that the Sorceress had both the Crown of Oblivion and the last gem. “No, no.”

Still smiling evilly, the Sorceress placed the center gem into the last slot on the crown, and she placed it on her own head, feeling the dark magic surge into her body, making her all-powerful _finally!_

“She has all the power now,” Joey said, feeling and sounding defeated.

“She used us,” Dawn whispered, feeling sick. “We got used… _again._ ”

The Sorceress sighed with content, savoring her victory, and she was looking forward to her _next_ victory on the modern world.

“I have waited more than a _century_ to wear this crown,” she announced, looking up at the quartet with a mocking smile. “It was stolen from me by the Society Against Evil and locked away, only to be restored by souls from the future and the Light of the Light-bearer. That is _why_ I brought you all here.” Her smile became as sneer as startled recognition etched itself across the faces of Joey and Dawn, for she knew that they were familiar with the Society Against Evil. “And in gratitude for such sacrifice, there is _one more_ game to play.” And she snapped her fingers, causing white smoke to come out of a nearby doorway.

“I don’t like this,” Andrea moaned.

“Oh no,” Tyler moaned, “oh no.”

Joey and Dawn said nothing, gripping each others’ hands tightly, dreading what was about to come out of that smoke, and what kind of _game_ the Sorceress was expecting them to play next.

“It’s my favorite part,” the Sorceress added, her smile becoming malicious. “In the end, you all _die!_ ”

Just then, Atticus the werewolf came out of the white smoke, snarling and growling as he looked up at the quartet with a hungry look in his eyes. The Devourer appeared next, followed by one of the Promethean Men, and, much to the horror of Andrea, Vera the vampire, who sneered up at them, licking her lips hungrily.

“They’re all back!” Joey yelped. “They’re here!”

“Oh _no_ , I knew it, I knew it,” Andrea whimpered, not looking forward to facing the vampire that’d been wanting her ever since this hellish night first began.

“Here we _go_ again,” Dawn groaned and wasn’t surprised when Tyler gripped her arm fearfully.

The Sorceress was enjoying their fear. “The sun is about to rise,” she bragged, “and my spell will be complete.” She then began laughing maniacally once again, and her lieutenants charged up the stairs, sprinting in the direction of the quartet.

They turned and ran into the nearest room, slamming the doors behind them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Sorceress used them! How dare she! Bye for now! R&R everyone!


	4. CHAPTER THREE: A NEW MISSION

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, world and welcome back to Escape the Night!
> 
> Good news is that the gems and the crown have been assembled, the bad news is that the Sorceress has the crown and our heroes are trapped in a bedroom. Will they get out alive? Onward!

**CHAPTER THREE: A NEW MISSION**

*****

The quartet found themselves in some kind of bedroom, and they were shaken by the sudden twist of events. Ten minutes ago it had looked like they were going to defeat the Sorceress, break her spell, and _finally_ return to 2017, only to have the Sorceress snatch their chance away and bring back six of her lieutenants.

“Omigosh,” Andrea gasped, wondering how everything could go wrong so fast. “You guys…”

Just then, the doors burst opened and both Cash and Midas entered the room. The quartet screamed in unison, ran through another pair of the doors, and slammed them right in the two mens’ faces, this time making sure to lock the doors.

“Can’t hide forever, you cowards!” Cash shouted as he and Midas banged on the door several times, but they couldn’t get them open, and so they left, certain that the four survivors would eventually come out of the room.

*****

Once the banging and footsteps faded away, Joey turned to his friends, shaken by what had just happened. “What the _hell_ just happened?” he demanded. “She _literally_ stole the crown from us. We did all that work!”

“The Sorceress _used_ us, Joey,” Dawn snapped, sinking in a nearby chair, her eyes brimming with hot tears of frustration. “She _used_ us just like Arthur _used_ us last year to get both the artifacts and removed the four owners so he could control the evil in that _cursed_ house. And once again, we’re caught in the middle of another of the Society Against Evil’s _freakin’ battles!_ _That’s_ what happened!” She then buried her face in her hands, weeping and her shoulders were shaking.

_‘Dawn’s right,’_ Joey realized, going over to her and wrapped his arms around her. “You’re right, Dawn, you’re absolutely right,” he agreed, hating that they were pawns in a seemingly never-ending war against evil.

“Wait, are you talking about that ancient order that Shane was a part of?” Tyler asked and Joey nodded since the brunette was in no condition to talk. “So, the Society Against Evil kept the Sorceress from gaining the Crown of Oblivion, and they _told_ her that only souls from the future, plus the Light-bearer, could restore the gems to the crown?” And when Joey nodded again, he groaned in frustration. “Great! Just great!”

Dawn managed to calm down and straightened up, but she wasn’t surprised that Joey was keeping one hand on her shoulder, and after what just happen, the physical support was much-needed. “Ok, emotional outburst aside, we need to figure out what to do next,” she said with a shuddering breath. “And we only have until sunrise, so that doesn’t give us much time.”

“Not going to be easy since we’re _literally_ trapped in whatever room this is,” Joey pointed out.

Andrea, who’d been examining the room, which was decorated with pink silk hangings and pink curtains on the windows, noticed something in the dollhouse that was sitting on a table, and she waved them over, “You guys,” she said, pointing to something inside the dollhouse, and her friends gathered around as she opened both the roof and the side and revealed a glass box that had a blonde doll inside it. “Doesn't this look like the girl that was, like, trapped in the box?”

“I have no idea,” Joey admitted, taking the doll out of the box.

Dawn noticed a tiny book inside the dollhouse and took it out, opening it. “Wait, there’s something written in here,” she said and she read aloud. “‘My name is Riley, and I am the child the Sorceress once was…the child that was hurt and sealed away so she might become a monster. I am her link to the Cursed God's magic she wields. If you free me from my prison, the Sorceress will be stripped of her power. Please save me. I just want to go outside and play like all the other girls’. Oh my gosh, I think I know what the Sorceress did to herself.”

“What?” Tyler asked.

“Somehow, the Sorceress pulled a Jekyll/Hyde on herself,” the brunette explained, forehead furrowed. “The Sorceress is basically Mr. Hyde, while Riley” she pointed to the doll that Joey was holding “is Dr. Jekyll. Although they’re separated, they’re _still_ connected, and if we can find and free Riley, then we can defeat the Sorceress.”

“Basically, the good half of the Sorceress is in this girl,” Joey guessed and she nodded.

Tyler noted that there were two other dolls sitting on the other side of the dollhouse. “Well, what are these two girls?” he asked, pointing to them. “Just, like, the other girls who she wants to be with?”

“‘Please save me’,” Joey repeated. “‘I just want to go outside and play like all the other girls’.”

“Get her,” Tyler said, pointing to the blonde doll and then he pointed to the two dolls, “and put her here with them.”

Nodding, Joey put the Riley doll with the other two dolls. “All right, girls, party time.” And they all started when a hidden door opened in the nearby wall. “A secret passage!”

“Let’s get out of here,” said Dawn, and they all hurried through the doorway, hoping that it would lead them outside so that they could find and free the _real_ Riley.

*****

They walked along a passageway until they came across an open window with a book resting on the window seal, and there was also a ladder.

While Joey grabbed the book, Dawn peered out the window, saw how high up they were, and then immediately retreated.

“Ok, that’s a _long_ way down,” she said, not looking forward to the climb down as her fear of heights kicked in.

Joey opened the book and read it. “‘My prison in the treehouse will open when the three Leviathan seals are broken. They are painted in crimson light around the estate. The first one is hidden behind bricks, but be careful. The lieutenants are after you. If you get caught and are not rescued within five minutes, you will be killed’.”

“Omigod,” Tyler moaned, not looking forward to going up against the lieutenants again. Especially not the Devourer after last time, which had resulted in _way_ too many close calls.

“Wait,” said Joey, pointing out the window toward a red light in the distance, where they could make out a human shape inside a treehouse. “Guys, look! That's the treehouse! That's where she's trapped!" He stared at the light for a moment, and then he smiled. "All right. Let's get out of here.”

Andrea eyed the ladder uneasily. “Are we going down this?” she asked.

“We have to,” said Tyler.

“I’m _so_ not looking forward to climbing down a ladder,” Dawn muttered as Tyler went first, followed by Andrea.

Joey gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze. “You can do this, Donny,” he assured her. “I’ll be right behind you.”

Swallowing, Dawn nodded and climbed out the window, doing her best not to look down as she started down the ladder. Joey put the book down and followed her out of the window.

It was time to free Riley and stop the Sorceress once and for all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time will be when Operation: Rescue Riley goes into affect. Bye for now! R&R everyone!


	5. CHAPTER FOUR: THE FIRST SYMBOL

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, world and welcome back to Escape the Night!
> 
> Time to look for the first symbol! Onward!

**CHAPTER FOUR: THE FIRST SYMBOL**

*****

While all of this was going on, the Sorceress approached a platform that had two bronze stands on either side with two red crystals in each, and she stepped onto it while her two male followers took their places behind the platform.

_‘Finally,’_ she thought as the dark magic from the Crown of Oblivion coursed through her body. _‘Finally, I will_ win _!’_ She had waited for this moment for over a century and now, despite the best efforts of the Society Against Evil to stop her, she was going to finish what she’d started, and _no one_ was going to stop her this time.

After the crown had been smashed and the gems lost to time, the Sorceress had taken on both Society members, but she hadn’t killed them, not right away. Instead, she had tortured them for _anything_ that could help her, and because of this, she managed to learn about how they were able to lock a location in time.

Once she learned how to do it, she killed them in the most _painful_ way possible, and she used that knowledge to lock the estate in time until she could bring to her a source of Darkness, the mortal souls from the future, and the Light-bearer.

Now, the Sorceress was ready to begin the final phase of her plan while her lieutenants killed off Joey, Dawn, Tyler, and Andrea since she no longer needed them. “The time has come,” she cackled, raising her hands and her followers did the same, “for my army to enter the modern world where we belong!”

*****

It didn’t take very long for the quartet to reach the ground, and by the time they did Dawn was shaking like a leaf, and she had to lean against the ladder for a few seconds to steady herself and get her breathing under control.

“All right,” Joey said once he was sure that they were ready. “So we just need to find some sort of bricks."

"This is a whole wall of bricks," Andrea replied, gesturing to the wall behind them.

“This _whole mansion_ is made of bricks!” Tyler exclaimed, and they all ended up laughing since it was true, but they still had to find the right wall of bricks, and do it _without_ getting caught by any of the lieutenants.

“Remember if _any_ of us get captured by one of the lieutenants,” Dawn reminded them, “we _have_ to save that person before the five minutes are up. Ok?” And her friends nodded.

“Let's look for these Leviathan symbols.”

*****

Back at the platform, the Sorceress summoned red energy from the two crystals to her hands, and, with the help of the magic from the Crown of Oblivion, she was able to open a hole in space and time. It was small at the moment, but with the power that was now surging through her body, she would open it wide enough to allow her army to enter the modern world.

_‘I do wish that both Joey and Dawn could witness what I’m about to do to their_ friends _,’_ she thought with a smug smile. _‘Oh, it would be_ so _sweet to make them watch as I make Eva Gutowski and Oli White_ suffer _for not accepting the invitations. It will be_ quite _delicious.’_ Oh yes, she would make them _pay_.

*****

The quartet ran along the wrap-around balcony to find the first Leviathan symbol while also making sure that they didn’t get caught by any of the lieutenants.

“Keep an eye out," Tyler reminded them. "You guys, there are lieutenants everywhere. We have to be a little bit sneakier.” And no sooner were the words out of his mouth then the Promethean Man suddenly came around the corner just ahead of them.

“Get inside,” Dawn hissed quickly and they ran for the nearest door, only to discover that the Devourer was waiting for them instead. “Scratch that idea.”

“Come this way," Joey whispered. "Come this way." And they ran down the nearest flight of stairs.

*****

The quartet reached the back yard and were checking the walls for the Leviathan symbols when an all-too-familiar voice rang out, alarming them.

“You’re _dead!_ ”

Vera came charing at them with a manic smile on her face, and the quartet fled across the yard. They sprinted past Atticus, Cash, and Midas, and they also gave chase.

*****

Somehow managing to lose the lieutenants, the quartet hid behind some bushes, trying to catch their breath.

“Ok, that was _terrifying_ ,” Joey gasped, knowing that he’d just made the understatement of the year, but he didn’t care. “I don't know what we do next.”

Andrea was too freaked out by almost being captured by Vera to give a coherent answer, Tyler was shrugging, and it was Dawn who noticed that there was a brick wall in a spot that hadn’t had one before. “Where did that brick wall come from?”

Exchanging curious looks, they crept out of the bushes and over to the wall to examine it. Realizing that a large section of it was actually made out of fake bricks, they were able to shove them down, and this created a doorway to a hideout of sorts, which they entered.

*****

Once they were inside, Joey saw something bright red and rotating on one of the walls. “There it is!” he exclaimed, pointing. “There’s the symbol!” And sure enough, it was the _first_ Leviathan symbol that was rotating just above their heads.

“Now that we’ve found it, how do we break it?” Dawn wondered.

Andrea looked around and noticed that there was a shotgun lying on the floor. “A gun,” she suggested. “We could use that.”

Joey picked up the shotgun and when he checked to see if it was loaded, he accidentally fired it, making them all jump away to avoid getting hit.

“Careful with that, Joey!” Dawn yelped.

“Sorry!”

“Wait, wait, wait,” said Andrea, grabbing a note that was lying among the bricks, and read it. “‘The Blood of the Forsaken must be spread across the seal to break it’.”

They exchanged perplexed looks, wondering what that could mean, and then they heard an enraged scream. Looking out the opening, they saw Vera running toward them. They’d been spotted!

“Oh God,” Andrea moaned, clinging to Tyler’s arm, and she was positive that she was going to be killed by that infernal vampire.

When Joey saw the vampire, something clicked in his mind, and the term “The Blood of the Forsaken” suddenly made sense. “Guys! _Vera_ has the Blood of the Forsaken!” He aimed the shotgun at the vampire. “Stay back!” And he fired at Vera, killing her instantly, and she fell to the ground, dead.

“Joey the vampire slayer strikes again,” Dawn joked with a nervous laugh. _‘And one less lieutenant to worry about, too.’_

“We need her blood,” Andrea reminded them, and they hurried out of the hideaway to reach the dead body.

*****

Once they had stained their hands in the vampire blood, which they all found to be _extremely_ gross, they hurried back to the brick hideaway, just barely avoided being seen by Atticus when he popped out of the bushes.

“All right,” Joey said as they gathered under the rotating Leviathan symbol that was just above their heads. “We need to put the blood on the seal.” And they all started jumping up, smearing the blood on the symbol.

“Is that it?” Andrea wondered. “Did we do it?” And then the symbol disappeared.

“That’s one down,” Tyler noted. “We need two more.”

Dawn sighed. “We need a clue to find the next Leviathan symbol.” And they went to check the bricks again until Joey suggested they check Vera’s dead body instead.

*****

Once again leaving the safety of the hideaway, the quartet ran back to the dead body to search, and Andrea found a clue in one of the pockets.

“‘The second seal can only be discussed-’” Andrea began reading when Atticus suddenly howled and came into view once again.

“Go!” Joey shrieked, and they ran away from the werewolf, which howled a second time and gave chase.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Vera's dead and the first symbol has gone bye-bye! Bye for now! R&R everyone!


	6. CHAPTER FIVE: THE SECOND SYMBOL PART 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, world and welcome back to Escape the Night!
> 
> The first symbol has been broken, and now it's time for our heroes to find and break the second symbol. Onward!

**CHAPTER FIVE: THE SECOND SYMBOL PART 1**

*****

Running from the werewolf, the quartet somehow got separated with Andrea ending up on the staircase, watching as Tyler scurried around the yard until he managed to hide behind a bush. Not wanting to be alone, she hurried back down the staircase and joined him. Now they just had to figure out where Joey and Dawn had ended up, and they cringed when they heard in the distance the voices of Cash and Midas.

“Atticus, bring them to Daddy!”

“Bring them right to us, Atticus!”

“Oh,” Andrea moaned. “I hate this.” And Tyler nodded in agreement when Atticus howled again in the distance. “Where are Joey and Dawn?”

“I don’t know.”

*****

Joey and Dawn weren’t sure how they got separated from Andrea and Tyler, but as they hid behind some bushes, they both were reminded of being chased around by Arthur, Sarah, and Marvin last year, and the number of times they’d gotten separated from Oli and Eva.

“How’d we get separated like this?” Joey wondered.

Dawn shrugged. “I haven’t the foggiest,” she admitted and hushed him when she heard Cash walking by with Midas.

“Where’d they go?”

“They have to be around here somewhere.”

When they were certain that neither lieutenant would see them, Joey and Dawn made a desperate dash out into the open. Avoiding being spotted, they duck behind a tree.

*****

After reading the clue, which said that ‘The second seal can only be discussed over dinner’, Tyler figured that it had to be the dining room, and they dashed up the stairs to reach the mansion while still making sure that they weren’t seen by any of the lieutenants. They had just gotten to where they could hide when Cash came strolling by below.

“Give you guys a little warning shot,” he said and fired his gun into the air, making them both flinched.

Once the Confederate General left to search elsewhere, Tyler and Andrea got up and hurried to the windows and doors to the foyer.

“Where’s the alien?” Tyler wondered, referring to the Devourer. “In this room?” And sure enough, when he checked the foyer, he could see the Devourer moving around.

“Tyler, where are you?”

Hearing Joey’s voice, Tyler moved toward the railing and waved his arms so that Joey and Dawn, who were still behind the tree could see him. “Joey, Dawn, we’re up here!”

Spotting him, Joey and Dawn bolted from behind the tree, just barely avoid being captured by Cash when he came around the corner, somehow avoided being seen by Midas, and up the stairs, where they joined Tyler and Andrea, huddling in a corner to keep from being seen.

Andrea pointed to where the Devourer could be seen through one of the windows. “He's inside the house," she informed them, "so any time we're in the house, he'll be there."

"So one of us should distract him," Tyler concluded.

"I can do that," Andrea volunteered.

“You did a good job last time,” Dawn agreed.

Joey nodded. "Ok, you'll distract him.”

However, just as they started for the door, the Promethean Man appeared and they ran until they could hide behind the telephone booth, which they were surprised to find that it hadn’t disappeared like most things did when they weren’t needed anymore.

*****

Once they were certain that the Promethean Man was gone, they headed back to the mansion, where Tyler told Joey and Dawn that they would need to go to the dining room to find the second Leviathan symbol, and Andrea got herself mentally ready to distract the Devourer.

“If you hear me scream,” she reminded them, “you _gotta_ save me. We _only_ have five minutes.”

“We _will_ save you,” Tyler promised.

Andrea went to the window while the others waited by the door to sneak inside. Knocking on the glass, she got the attention of the Devourer, especially when she did a little dance that made her outfit jingle, and as the creature started toward her, she gestured with a finger for it to follow her, and she began moving from window to window to distract it.

*****

Sneaking inside, Joey, Tyler, and Dawn hurried into the dining room, where they found the second Leviathan symbol rotating on the wall like a red beacon.

“The second seal,” Joey said, shutting the doors behind them. “Ok, so what do we do?”

Dawn glanced at the table and her stomach clinched when she saw what was on it. “Uh, Joey, Tyler, look at the table.” They did and saw that it had been set up with bowls filled with some kind of revolting-looking soup, and on one of the platters was an _actual_ human head. “I’m gonna be sick. I just _know it_.”

“Same here,” Joey agreed uneasily as they approached the table from either side.

Tyler saw that one platter had a lid covering it and, figuring that it had to be important, lifted it up, and nearly dropped the lid when they all screamed at the sight of the cockroaches scurrying around the platter and over a note. “Ew!” He quickly grabbed the note and slammed the lid back down on the platter to keep the cockroaches from escaping.

“Ugh, cockroaches,” Dawn grumbled and convinced Joey that there was no reason to pick the lid up again. “What does the note say, Tyler?”

Tyler opened the note and read it. “‘Welcome to the dinner for the damned. The first course has just started, but no one has arrived. Can't let it get cold! The chef will be furious! Would you be so kind to at least swallow a spoonful of soup at every plate’?”

“Seriously?” Dawn asked, staring in horror at the bowls of soup. “We have _eat this?_ ” And even Joey and Tyler were looking ill at the thought of having to eat the revolting soup.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ugh! Even I wouldn't want eat that soup. Gross!
> 
> I will see you all later with the next chapter. Bye for now! R&R everyone!


	7. CHAPTER SIX: THE SECOND SYMBOL PART 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, world and welcome back to Escape the Night!
> 
> It's time to break the second seal…but will Joey, Tyler, and Dawn's stomachs survive that disgusting soup? Onward!

**CHAPTER SIX: THE SECOND SYMBOL PART 2**

*****

Meanwhile, Andrea was still distracting the Devourer, which was leering at her through one of the windows, and she was hoping that her friends would break the second Leviathan symbol soon before the creature got bored and tried to go after them like last time.

Just then, she heard the Promethean Man coming. _‘Oh crap!’_ Andrea thought and fled, knowing that the Devourer was probably going to go after the others while she had to hide to avoid being captured. She fled to the telephone booth and hid inside, backing up so that her breath wouldn’t mist the glass of the door and give her away.

_‘Please don’t find me,’_ she thought, willing herself to become invisible as the Promethean Man approached the booth. _‘Please, please,_ please _don’t find me!’_

*****

Unaware of what was going on outside, Joey and Dawn weren’t happy at the thought of having to eat the revolting soup, and Tyler was pointing out that they had to in order to break the second Leviathan symbol.

“Tyler there are _freakin’_ body parts in some of these bowls,” Dawn pointed out. “I mean, _come on!_ ”

“I rather not eat it either,” Tyler agreed, especially after Joey fished an eyeball out of one of the soup bowls. “But we gotta do it, and Andrea is waiting-” He cut himself off when the Devourer suddenly pushed the doors open to the room.

Joey dropped the eyeball and gestured at Tyler while he and Dawn duck under the table. “Get under the table.” They pulled the chairs in and huddled together, listening as the Devourer moved around the dining room, and they had to fight the impulse to scream when it slammed one of its’ hands on the table.

_‘If the Devourer is in here, does that mean Andrea has been captured?’_ Dawn wondered fearfully while also hoping that the Devourer wouldn’t look down and spot them. _‘I hope she’s ok.’_

The Devourer prowled around the room for several minutes before it finally left. The moment that it was gone, the trio quickly got out from under the table, and Joey went to shut the doors.

“I’m going to close the doors.”

“What does that mean for Andrea?” Tyler wondered fearfully.

“We didn’t hear her scream, so she’s probably hiding from one of the other lieutenants,” Dawn guessed while Joey shut the doors and grabbed one of the chairs to wedge under the doorknobs. “Think that’ll keep that thing out?”

“Hopefully.”

*****

Meanwhile, Andrea was still hiding inside the telephone booth, and she was scared out of her mind since the Promethean Man was facing the door and placing his hands on the glass to peer inside. When this happened, she mentally willed herself to become invisible, hoping and praying that he wouldn’t see her.

*****

Back in the dining room, Tyler picked up one of the spoons, examined the array of soup bowls, and he turned to Joey and Dawn. “You both get that side,” he said, pointing to the side closest to the windows, I’ll get this side.”

Although they _really_ didn’t want to do this, they were running out of time, and they still didn’t know if Andrea was safe or not. Dawn sighed and pushed Joey, who was protesting, toward the nearest bowl. “Let’s get this over with.”

Picking up spoons as well, the trio went to work on sampling each bowl of soup on either side of the table, gagging and coughing at the taste, plus freaking out at whatever happen to be in the bowls with the icky green soup, and making comments about the taste, which was a toss up for either outright gross or just plain sour.

Joey and Dawn both groaned when they found a suspicious bone in one of the soup bowls, and yet they still each took a spoonful. No sooner had they swallowed it, then they both immediately started coughing it right back up again.

“Good God, get a _grip_ , girls!” Tyler snapped from across of them, earning two sour looks, but they managed to continue eating the rest of the soup, even when Joey made a point of getting rid of a jawbone from one of the bowls.

“We’re _so_ close,” Tyler pointed out when his friends started coughing again because of what they were eating, and they all jumped when the doors started shaking and they could hear the growls of the Devourer on the other side. “Smart move with the chair, Joey.”

“Let’s just hope it holds,” Dawn said uneasily, and they went back to finishing off the last of the revolting soup.

*****

When the Promethean Man _finally_ left and she was certain that the coast was clear, Andrea crept back out of the telephone booth and hurried back toward the mansion. She was hoping against hope that the Devourer hadn’t found her friends, that they were safe, and that they were close to breaking the second Leviathan symbol.

*****

Meanwhile in the dining room, the Devourer was still banging on the doors, trying to get inside, and Joey, Dawn, and Tyler only had a few bowls of soup left to sample. It wasn’t easy since all three of them were on the verge of throwing up, and it didn’t help that Tyler was joking that they would like a bowl that had both mold _and_ a thumb in it. “Gluten free!”

“Hardly!” Dawn protested as she reluctantly obtained a spoonful and Joey did the same. After eating the soup, they nearly threw up for what felt like the hundredth time that night.

*****

Sneaking into the mansion, Andrea crossed the foyer and spotted the Devourer as it was trying to gain access to the dining room, and she whistled to get its’ attention. “Hey, I'm in your house!" And it stormed towards her.

"Come out of your house," she giggled nervously as she ran back outside. "You guys! Hurry up!”

*****

When the trio heard Andrea’s voice shouting outside, they realized that she was still alive, and they needed to finish up fast. They then focused on the last three bowls, counted to three, and they each swallowed a spoonful that left them all nearly gagging while hoping that the seal would break and they could go help their friend.

*****

Andrea soon found herself being chased around by the Devourer, and she fled up stairs with it hot on her heels. Great! Now she was going to do a _Scooby-doo_ chase scene. “You guys!” she screamed.

*****

“Oh, I hope she hasn’t been captured,” Joey moaned, not wanting to lose anymore friends, and then they saw that the symbol was gone from the wall.

Dawn hurried to the doors and removed the chair. Poking her head out, she saw Andrea, who’d managed to get back downstairs, running toward her. “Get in!” she shouted, opening the doors long enough for their friend to get inside, and then she slammed the doors shut, jamming the chair back into place just as the Devourer collided with them, making them shake. “Ok, that was _too_ close.”

“No kidding,” Andrea agreed and they shared a hug before she saw the revolting soup on the table. “Ugh, did you guys have to eat _that?_ ”

“Unfortunately,” Joey grumbled while Tyler found their next clue on the floor by the wall.

“Here,” said Tyler and he read the clue. “‘The final seal lies on the water’.”

“So, this could mean either the pool or the pond,” said Dawn. “We should probably check both.”

At that _exact_ moment, the Devourer barged into the room directly behind them by way of the hidden door, forcing the quartet to run through the other doors once the chair had been removed.

“Go, go, go!” Joey shouted, pushing them ahead of him and they fled down the hallway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two seals down and one to go! Bye for now! R&R everyone!


	8. CHAPTER SEVEN: THE THIRD SYMBOL

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, world and welcome back to Escape the Night!
> 
> Two seals have been broken! Can the final seal be found and broken next? Onward!

**CHAPTER SEVEN: THE THIRD SYMBOL**

*****

Reaching the foyer, they could see the Promethean Man walking past the windows and so they went down a different hallway, cutting through the lounge, and out the door to go back outside, somehow managing to avoid being seen…so far.

*****

Once they were back on the balcony, Tyler pointed toward the pool. “We have to go to the pool,” he hissed.

“Ok,” Joey said in a soft voice. “Let’s go.” They headed for the stairs to reach the back yard, but when the Promethean Man came around the corner, they had to turn and go the other way. Unfortunately, both Cash and Midas were visible down on the grass, and when both the Confederate General and the Greek king started up the stairs, they duck into an alcove, just as the Promethean Man walked past them.

“Anyone up here on the balcony?” Cash inquired, reaching the balcony. “I sure hope so. I’m lonely downstairs.”

“You all just might as well come out and get it over with,” Midas called out. “The sun will be up soon, anyway.”

Refusing to give up and the second that that Promethean Man’s back was turned, Joey, Dawn, and Andrea all bolted past him for the stairs, and Tyler wasn’t far behind. Hearing them, the Promethean Man lunged for Tyler, but he managed to avoid capture with a well-timed jump, and they all ran down the stairs.

*****

The quartet reached the pool, once again doing their best to ignore the dead body still in the water, and they searched for the third symbol. However, it became apparent that the remaining Leviathan symbol wasn’t there.

“You guys, it has to be the pond,” said Andrea. “It has to be the pond.”

“To the pond,” Dawn agreed, and they headed for the pond instead.

*****

The route to the pond was slightly hampered when they had to duck behind some bushes when Cash and Midas both returned to the back yard, still searching for the quartet.

“Come on,” Joey whispered when both men moved away from their hiding places. “This way.” And they ran for the pond.

Unfortunately, Cash heard the whispers and started back the way he came, Midas following him eagerly. “I hear whispers,” he said with a sneer. “I hear ‘em.” And he turned the corner at the same time as the quartet. “A-ha! We got ‘em!”

“Run!” And they ran back the way they came with Cash and Midas giving chase and calling out to the other lieutenants…well, not to the Devourer since it was confined to the mansion.

*****

Spotting the telephone booth, Andrea hurried her friends to it, and they all managed to squeeze inside, shutting the door. How they could all fit in there was a mystery, but there was no time to figure it out since both Cash and Midas were outside the booth, searching for them.

“I know you’re close.”

“We _will_ find you.”

Luckily for the quartet, both men left, and when their footsteps faded away, they exited the telephone booth, running back toward the pond.

*****

The moment that they reached the pond, they saw the final Leviathan symbol floating on the water, and they knew that they were one step closer to freeing Riley, stopping the Sorceress once and for all, and going back home to 2017.

Under a nearby tree was a chest and a note, which Andrea picked up and read. “‘I'm afraid this seal can only be broken by blowing the shit out of it. The trick is to take down the lieutenants at the same time. Place the dynamite in the pond and prep the detonator. Then, lure in the lieutenants and blow the seal. Good luck’.”

“Guys, this is the dynamite," Joey said, picking up the heavy chest. "It's in here.”

Dawn followed the wires connected to the back of the chest across the ground and found the detonator. “And here’s the detonator,” she announced, holding it up. “Go for it, Joey.”

Nodding, Joey tossed the chest into the water while she prepped the detonator. Once the trap was set, they started shouting and waving to get the attention of the lieutenants in order to bring them over to them.

“Over here!”

“Hello!”

“Hi! Over here! Come on!”

“Come and get us! We give up!”

It didn’t very long for Cash, Midas, and Atticus to arrive, moving toward the group until they were only about a foot away. Cash aimed his gun at them, particularly at Dawn, who was holding the detonator in her hands.

“Drop it!” he ordered, cocking the gun. “Don’t even _think_ about it, girl.”

“See you in _hell!_ ” Dawn snapped and she pushed the detonator, detonating the dynamite. While the group cringed at the explosion, it sent Atticus, Midas, and Cash flying backwards onto the ground _hard._ They looked at the remains of the pond, saw that the final symbol was gone, and when they looked at the three lieutenants, it was clear that they were dead.

“We got it!” Tyler cheered and high-five Dawn, who was beaming.

Andrea noticed a purple light coming from the treehouse, and she pointed at it. “The treehouse! The treehouse is right there!”

“It’s unlocked,” said Joey with a big smile and, after Dawn tossed aside the detonator, they ran toward it with renewed hope in their hearts.

Soon they would be able to defeat the Sorceress, break the spell, and then they would _finally_ be able to go back to the modern world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Three minions and one seal go BOOM! Bye for now! R&R everyone!


	9. CHAPTER EIGHT: THE FINAL PRICE

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, world and welcome back to Escape the Night!
> 
> It's time to free Riley from the treehouse and stop the Sorceress once and for all…right? Onward!

**CHAPTER EIGHT: THE FINAL PRICE**

*****

Reaching the treehouse, the quartet pushed the door opened and entered to find the blonde girl, Riley, inside the same glass box that they had seen in the Sorceress’ portrait earlier, and they knew that they had to get her out of there.

When Riley saw them, she immediately stood up since she’d been sitting on the floor of the box, and when Joey opened the box, she stepped out and immediately hugged them all with a grateful expression on her face. “Thank you! You’ve freed me!”

“You’re welcome, Riley,” Dawn said, although a bit startled at being hug, but she figured that since the poor girl had been locked up for so long, having physical contact of any kind was a big improvement over being trapped in a glass box with no one to talk to. She smiled at Joey, who smiled in return. Now that the girl was freed, they could _finally_ defeat the Sorceress.

*****

Meanwhile, the Sorceress was _so_ focused on opening the portal, which had grown bigger so that she could see the Los Angeles skyline, that she wasn’t aware that she was starting to lose her powers until the portal began collapsing in on itself. “What is _happening?!_ ” she screamed as her powers disappeared, her two followers died, and the portal vanished. She felt herself weakening further and she could sense the Devourer was being sucked back into the Dark Dimension by way of the gateway.

The Sorceress sank to her knees as her powers kept fading away, her makeup started to stream down her face as tears of frustration and defeat leaked out of her eyes. “No…” she whispered, realizing that it had to be the remaining souls from the future. _‘Somehow Joey, that dammed Light-bearer, and their two friends have figured out how to break my link with my good half. This will not_ stand _!’_

*****

Riley could sense that the Sorceress’ powers were disappearing now that she was freed, and it was all because of the four people before her. “The Sorceress!” she exclaimed. “I'm the source of her power! Now that I'm out, she'll be weak!”

“So what do we do?” Tyler asked, hoping that she would have an answer for them before the sun rose.

“How do we defeat her?” Joey asked.

Riley, however, wasn’t listening to them and a determined expression etched itself across her face. “She will know the pain that I have felt all these years!” she vowed and ran out of the treehouse.

Startled by this sudden mood shift, the quartet gave chase with shouts for her to wait and slow down.

*****

By the time that the quartet _finally_ caught up with Riley, who was fast for someone who’d been locked up for over a century and was bare-footed, she was already on the balcony and stopped short when the Promethean Man appeared, raising an arm to strike her down.

Just then, Jetpack Girl arrived with her gun in hand. “Not so fast!” she shouted and shot the Promethean Man twice in the chest, and he fell to the ground. She stepped up to him and shot him one last time in the chest for good measure, and he sputtered as he died.

“Good job, Jetpack Girl!” Tyler cheered since that was the last of the lieutenants, and when Riley ran to enter the mansion, they all followed.

*****

The group _finally_ caught up with Riley in the foyer, where Dawn managed to grab her arm. “Careful,” she warned. “Just because the Sorceress doesn’t have her powers anymore doesn’t make her any less dangerous.”

“There she is,” said Joey, pointing to the stairs, and sure enough, the Sorceress was lying on her back, having apparently collapsed there with one arm pinned behind her. Lying on the step above her head was the Crown of Oblivion. “Do you think she’s dead?”

“Hard to say for sure,” Dawn admitted, getting an uneasy feeling as Joey cautiously approached the stairs. “Joey, I don’t know if that’s a good idea.”

Joey, however, was focused on getting the crown, breaking the spell, and _finally_ getting them all home to their friends and loved ones. “Ok,” he whispered, reaching past the Sorceress to grab the crown. “I got it.” He grabbed the crown.

Suddenly, the Sorceress’ eyes snapped open, she grabbed Joey’s wrist, and pulled her other hand from behind her back, revealing that she was clutching a knife. Before he could react, she screamed and plunged the knife into his chest, forcing him backwards and they both fell onto the floor.

“Joey!” Dawn screamed and her whole body lit up as the Light responded to her. While the others were baking away and freaking out, she ran forward as the Sorceress sat up and pulled the knife out, raising it to stab her friend a second time, and she grabbed the evil woman’s wrists, yanking her away. “No! No, you’re not going to hurt him _anymore!_ ”

Tyler, Andrea, Riley, and Jetpack Girl watched in shocked as the newly revealed and pissed-off Light-bearer struggled with the Sorceress over the knife, and the Light was growing brighter with every second that passed.

Joey was wheezing and still holding the crown, somehow, in his right hand. Lifting his head a little, he could just make out Dawn fighting with the Sorceress, and to him, his best friend was looking like an angel with the Light surrounding her. “Donny…” he whispered, feeling his strength fading, and he knew that he was dying. _‘Donny, I’m sorry. I’m_ so _sorry.’_ He lowered his head back onto the floor, unable to keep it up any longer.

Dawn could hear Joey’s whisper and her determination to stop the Sorceress grew, powering the Light. “This night is going to end _now!_ ” she screamed, her angry boiling out of control as she tightened her grips on the evil woman’s wrists, making her cry out in pain as she sank to her knees. “You have put us through _hell_ , you _forced_ us to kill our friends for your _sick_ game! No more! _No more!_ ”

The Sorceress could feel the Light overwhelming her, draining away the little dark magic and strength that she had left. Everything that the two Society Against Evil members had said, about the Light-bearer being her downfall, it was coming true. _‘No,’_ she thought, steeling herself and drawing forth whatever Darkness was left to restore her strength to resist the Light’s effects one last time. _‘No, I will_ win _!’_

With an unexpected scream, the Sorceress managed to wrench her right hand, which had the knife, free and she slashed the Light-bearer across her right forearm. “ _No!_ ”

“Agh!” Dawn screamed, clutching her arm as the Light faded, but didn’t disappear completely. She fell backwards onto the floor, gasping in pain, and she watched helplessly as the Sorceress crawled back to Joey. “No! Joey, _no!_ ”

Still screaming, the Sorceress raised the knife again and stabbed Joey in the chest a second time, making him cry out, his back arching in pain before he went limp, dying instantly. Pulling the knife out, she sat back, breathing hard and turned her gazed toward the brunette. “Now…” she wheezed, determined to kill the Light-bearer, but her vision started to blur, and the knife slipped from her suddenly nerveless hand. “No…”

Seeing her chance, Riley ran forward, snatched up the knife, grabbed the evil woman by the back of her head and, before anyone could stop her, she slit the Sorceress’ throat. When she let go, the body of her evil half dropped to the floor.

“Riley,” Dawn whispered, getting to her knees and recognizing the guilty expression etching itself across the blonde girl’s face. “Riley…”

Riley was feeling sick for what she’d just done and dropped the knife, tears leaking out of her eyes as she backed away from it, shaking.

Dawn crawled, which wasn’t easy with her right arm being injured and pressed close to her, over to where the crown was still in Joey’s limp hand and she looked at Tyler and Andrea, who were wearing identical shocked and sadden expressions. “Tyler,” she said, fighting back the pain and the tears, “you – you _need_ to wear the crown and end the spell. The sun’s close to rising.”

“Me?” Tyler squeaked, but he found himself moving toward the Light-bearer and their dead friend.

Dawn nodded, not sure how she knew, but it seemed like the Light itself was telling her that Tyler was the one to do it, that _he_ needed to be the one to end the spell once and for all, and she gently took his arm when he was close enough to her, so he started glowing, too. “Yes, you _can_ do this, Tyler,”she insisted. “ _Please._ ”

Feeling strengthened by the Light flowing through him, Tyler nodded and the Light-bearer released his arm, leaving him glowing, so that he could pick up the Crown of Oblivion. He then placed the crown on his own head and the gems began glowing like starlight as the magic of the crown, plus the Light, merged together inside his heart and soul, banishing any remaining Darkness.

Breathing hard, Tyler shut his eyes as the white magic shot out of his hands, and spread throughout the mansion and the whole estate like a magical shockwave, breaking the spell completely. Any Darkness and evil beings left was destroyed by the magic, and those still in the mansion were _finally_ freed.

*****

Tyler felt the magic retreat back into the Crown of Oblivion and the Light faded, settling itself inside his soul, and he sighed with relief. “It’s over.”

“It is,” Dawn agreed as she moved over to Joey’s body, the Light returning to its’ place inside her own soul, rested her head on his chest, not caring that his blood was getting into her hair or on her face, and she began to weep. “Joey, I – I – I’m _so_ sorry!” And she cried bitter tears, having failed to save her best friend, and the closest person she had to a brother.

Both Tyler and Andrea went to the brunette while Jetpack Girl went to Riley and took her hand.

“You can come with me,” she told the traumatized girl. “It’ll be ok.” And they left together.

Andrea watched them go and then returned her attention to the brunette. “Dawn, we need to bandage your arm,” she said gently and, with help from Tyler, helped her sit up. “And we won’t leave Joey on the floor like this. I promise.”

Although she was still crying, Dawn nodded, sniffing a little, and let her two remaining friends help her up so that they could find some kind of medical kit to treat the cut on her left arm. “Ok, ok.”

*****

After bandaging Dawn’s arm, having found a first aid kit in the upstairs sick room, and cleaning the blood off her face and out of her hair the best that they could, they went back downstairs, where they managed to retrieve the remaining coffin that’d been left in the ballroom by the vampires, and brought it back to the foyer. Ignoring the dead body of the Sorceress, who could rot on the cold floor as far as they were concerned, Tyler and Andrea carefully lifted the body of their dead friend and placed him inside the coffin.

Dawn reached into the coffin and took his hands, placing them on top of each other on his chest, and, after planting a kiss on his forehead, took a step back while Tyler took off the Crown of Oblivion, placing it on Joey’s head.

Andrea sighed and shook her head. “Let’s go home,” she said and, taking a deep breath, she shut the lid on the coffin while Tyler and Dawn both nodded.

After running her hand over the lid, Andrea and Tyler went to either side of the brunette, who was cradling her right arm, and they left the mansion together.

*****

When they were outside, both Tyler and Andrea _really_ wanted to laugh and smile since the night was _finally_ over as the sun rose over the mountains, but they knew that it wouldn’t be fair to Dawn, who was looking like her whole world had just come to an end, and to some extent it had when Joey had been killed.

So, instead of laughing, Andrea and Tyler both wrapped an arm around Dawn’s shoulders, and they all headed down the path that would lead them to the gates and freedom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wah! Joey's dead! Yeah that REALLY caught me off guard the first time I watched the episode, and later learned that it was a last minute idea on Joey's part to have him get killed by the Sorceress. Bye for now! R&R everyone!


	10. CHAPTER NINE: BITTERSWEET

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, world and welcome back to Escape the Night!
> 
> We're getting close to the end, and both the Sorceress and poor Joey are dead. Wah! Onward!

**CHAPTER NINE: BITTERSWEET**

*****

When Dawn, Tyler, and Andrea walked through the open gates of the estate, a dozen black SUVs pulled up, forming a semi-circle. While her friends were startled by this, Dawn saw the symbol for the Society Against Evil on the doors, and she knew that they were there to get them out of there and, most likely, retrieve the dead bodies of their friends.

“Who are they?” Tyler asked nervously as men and women in dark clothing exited the cars, save for one man, who was wearing a grey trench coat over a grey business suit.

“They’re with the Society Against Evil,” Dawn answered tiredly as the man hurried over to them. “James.”

James McCoy reached the trio, relieved and alarmed since the promise he’d made to the brunette to be there to help rescue Joey hadn’t been kept due to the fact that the Sorceress’ spell had prevented them from gaining access to the mansion. “Dawn,” he said, gently touching her shoulder with one hand while nodding to Tyler and Andrea as most of the men and women headed toward the mansion. “Mr. Oakley, Ms. Russett. Are you all ok?” he asked, noticing that someone was missing. “Where’s Joey?”

Dawn started tearing up again and it didn’t help that the cut on her right arm was throbbing worst then ever. “Joey, he – he,” she began, having troubles focusing, and her vision was starting to blur as she was hit with a dizzy spell. “Joey, he didn’t – he-” She then fainted and James caught her, keeping her from collapsing onto the ground.

“I need a medic over here!” James shouted over his shoulder before returning his attention to the unconscious brunette, who was looking both pale and flushed at the same time, sweat beading on her forehead, and when he felt it, he was shocked to find that it was burning with a high fever. “What happen?” he asked Tyler and Andrea, who were alarmed by this. “Where’s Joey? _What_ happen in there?”

As two men with medical kits ran up to attend to the unconscious girl and James gently and carefully put her on the ground so that they could do so, Tyler and Andrea told him about what they’d gone through, every single second, not leaving anything out. They concluded with how the Sorceress had killed Joey, despite Dawn summoning the Light to stop her, and that the brunette had been cut by the same knife that’d been used to kill Joey.

“Joey is in a coffin in the foyer,” Tyler added, “and the knife is still on the floor next to the body of the Sorceress. Is she going to be ok?” He looked at their unconscious friend, concerned for her wellbeing.

James didn’t know how to answer that question, instead he pulled out a radio, and he spoke into it. “There’s a knife int the foyer, check it for either poison or some kind of toxin.”

_`“Yes, sir.”`_

“Wait, are you saying that Dawn’s been poisoned?” Andrea asked, sharing an alarmed look with Tyler. Were they going to lose the brunette after _everything_ they’d just been through?

James glanced at the medics and, when one of them nodded to indicate that they had her stabilized for the moment, he sighed. “It looks like it,” he confirmed, and listened when a male voice came over the radio.

_`“Sir, we found the knife and there’s a_ definite _toxin on the blade.”`_

“Bring it out here now,” James ordered and gestured to Tyler and Andrea while two more medics ran up with a stretcher, and they loaded the unconscious brunette onto it while one of the men that had entered the mansion came out, reaching them with the bloodied knife in a baggie. “Come on, let’s get you all out of here.”

Andrea and Tyler followed him to one of the vehicles while their friend was loaded into the back of a black ambulance with the medics, and they climbed inside with James. The man with the bagged knife also got in, and they drove away, followed by the ambulance.

*****

Dawn wasn’t sure how long she had been unconscious, she couldn’t even remember fainting, but when she finally woke up, she was surprised to find herself in what was clearly an infirmary, and since her eyesight was on the blurry side, that meant that she didn’t have the contact lens anymore.

She was lying on a bed with an IV running into her right arm, a monitor was beeping steadily as it kept track of her heart rate, there was a different bandage on her right arm as well, and she wasn’t wearing her detective outfit anymore. Instead, she was wearing a white tank top and even though there was a blanket covering her from the chest down, she was certain that she had grey sweatpants and white socks on like last time.

“Where am I?” Dawn asked groggily and when Dr. Caroline Green came over to check on her, she got her answer. “Another safe house, Dr. Green?”

“It is,” Dr. Green confirmed, taking out a penlight to check the brunette’s eyes. “You gave us quite a scare back there when you fainted from the toxin that was on that knife.”

Dawn frowned. “Toxin? What toxin?” she questioned, and then something clicked in her mind. “The knife that the Sorceress used to kill Joey and cut me with. It – it had a toxin on it?”

“I’m afraid so,” Dr. Green replied, putting the penlight away and wrote a note on her clipboard. “Even if you had kept the Sorceress from stabbing Joey a second time, the toxin would’ve killed him long before the Society could get there. Fortunately, we were able to use the antidote on you, dear.”

Dawn knew that the doctor was trying to help her with those words, but she couldn’t help but feel guilty for the death of _more_ friends, plus her failure to save Joey. “How long have I been unconscious?” she asked, hating that a few tears had leaked out and were running down her face before she could wipe them away with her hand.

“Three days,” James answered, walking up to the side of the bed. “It was touch and go for a while, but you’re back with us, and both Andrea and Tyler are going to be relieved when they get here.” And then both of them ran into the infirmary, and over to the bed. “For example.”

Dawn couldn’t help but chuckled as Andrea and Tyler, who were wearing t-shirts, jeans, and trainers, both hugged her once the bed had been repositioned so that she could sit up. She hugged them back, despite the IV line that was still in her right arm, and they also were being mindful of the bandage on her right arm, too. “Hey, guys.” _‘Now I know how Frodo felt after destroying the One Ring and being reunited with his friends…well,_ most _of his friends.’_

“Thank _God_ that you’re still with us, Donny,” Andrea said once they were done hugging and she sat on the side of the bed while Tyler pulled up a chair to sit on, and both James and Dr. Green walked away to let them talk in private. “You scared us when you fainted, girl.”

Dawn flushed. “It wasn’t on purpose,” she assured them. “How are you both doing?”

“I’ll be glad when we can _finally_ go home,” Tyler admitted. “As helpful as the Society has been, I want out of this place.”

“Same here,” Andrea agreed and a conflicted expression etched itself across her face.

Dawn noticed this. “Andrea, is something wrong?” she asked, although she had a feeling that they had been told about just how much time had _really_ passed while they had been trapped in the mansion, and it was probably longer then a single night, just like last time. “Guys, talk to me, how much time passed while we were trapped in that house?”

Tyler sighed, having been told by James the morning after they had arrived at the safe house for the Society Against Evil. “Three months,” he answered. “Mr. McCoy told us two days ago. I can’t believe that we’ve been gone for _three months_.”

“That’s what happen last year, too,” Dawn informed them, sighing. “It seemed like a single night, but time kept going for the rest of the world while we were fighting for our lives both times. I expect that the Society will provide a cover story to explain what happen, and I’m sure they’ve retrieved our friends’ bodies by now.”

“Well, _most_ of the bodies,” Andrea said slowly and when the brunette looked at her questioningly, she explained what she and Tyler had been told by James. “Apparently, they couldn’t find Joey’s body. He, the Crown of Oblivion, and the coffin we put him in are missing. The Sorceress’ body was still there, but his wasn’t.”

Dawn felt her stomach drop. “Wait, you’re saying that Joey’s missing? How?” She started reaching for the IV to pull it out, but both James and Dr. Green came over to stop her. “James, what’s this about you not finding Joey inside the mansion?”

“When the teams went in to retrieve the bodies of your friends and that of the Sorceress,” James told her, gently taking her hand into his. “The coffin was missing from the foyer. I don’t know how it’s possible, but it’s gone, and I can promise that the Society will do _everything_ that they can to find and bring back Joey’s body to his family.”

Dawn felt her heart sinking to where her stomach had once been. “Then, what am I suppose to tell his family? His boyfriend?” she demanded, pulling her hand away from the man’s hands. “How is this going to fit with whatever _cover story_ you’ve come up with this time?!”

James didn’t try to convince the brunette to calm down, knowing that it would do no good, but he did speak in a calming tone. “Joey will be declared missing in action for now,” he promised. “I know it won’t do much for his family or his boyfriend, but it’s the best that can be done for the time being.”

It wasn’t the answer that she wanted, but it was the only answer that fit with the current situation, and Dawn sighed and laid back on the bed, hating that she couldn’t lay her best friend to rest just yet. “ _Fine._ ”

*****

A few days later and, once Dr. Green was certain that Dawn wasn’t going to suffer any ill effects from the cut, which was going to leave a scar, she, Andrea, and Tyler were finally able to return to their families and friends. Later that same day, the news reported the cover story that the Society came up with while the bodies of their nine friends were returned to their families, and the three survivors were surprised that Artie’s body wasn’t stone like they expected it to be, but they decided it was a small blessing for his and Ernie’s family.

The cover story provided this time was that a woman that called herself “The Sorceress” had been a member of the same cult, that she had first kidnapped Joey Graceffa from his house, and then she had kidnapped Dawn Hatcher and the eleven YouTubers with the intention of finishing what Arthur Kenneth had started last year.

By the time the Society had managed to stop the Sorceress, she’d already tortured and killed nine of her captives, and while they had stopped her, they hadn’t been able to find Joey anywhere in the mansion. The Society had “taken care of” the woman when they rescued Dawn, Tyler, and Andrea, and they were positive that they had destroyed Arthur’s legacy.

When the three survivors had been questioned about the cover story, especially by the increasingly annoying reporter and blogger Jermaine Whitehouse, they had stuck with it like glue, and no, they had no idea where the highly disturbed woman had put Joey, only that they _had_ seen him in the mansion, and that they were hoping that he was still alive.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The nightmare is over and they are going home finally…but the cost. Bye for now! R&R everyone!


	11. EPILOGUE: A DECISION TO MAKE

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, world and welcome back to Escape the Night!
> 
> It's time to wrap up this story and see what Dawn will do after going through hell a second time. Onward!

**EPILOGUE: A DECISION TO MAKE**

*****

Over the next nine weeks, funerals were held for Lauren, Jesse, DeStorm, Liza, Artie and Ernie, Tana, Gabbie, and Alex. Dawn attended every single funeral while Andrea chose not to attend Tana’s funeral, and Tyler also chose to attend every funeral, especially Alex’s funeral, which had been the hardest for him since Alex and Lauren’s families had jointly chosen to bury them side-by-side in the same plot at the cemetery.

Dawn wasn’t too surprised when Eva and Oli went with them to the funerals, in fact she was glad since that was what they all had in common: they were survivors of two similar battles against two different versions of the same evil.

*****

Since Joey had been declared MIA, the five survivors decided to do a private memorial service for him in a section of Dawn’s backyard at her California house, even though it wasn’t the same, it was the best that they could do until the Society Against Evil found his body.

Dawn had expected Daniel Preda, Joey’s boyfriend, to be furious with her for Joey not being around, but he hadn’t been angry at all, and he voiced that he was certain that Joey would return to them both one day. And while she wanted to believe him, she sadly knew that it was veryunlikely that Joey would ever come back to them alive.

*****

When a month had passed, Dawn, who’d been sitting on the couch in her living room and staring blankly into space, wasn’t surprised when one of the Society Against Evil’s cars pulled up in front of her house, and when the two men came to the front door, she opened it, having expected that the Society wasn’t done with her yet.

“Ms. Hatcher,” said one of the men. “If you will come with us? Our employer wishes to meet with you.”

Dawn nodded, made sure to lock the front door, and she walked with them to the car. Climbing inside, she sat down and wasn’t surprised when they sat on either side of her, which she took as a sign that they were to make sure that she didn’t try to make a break for it. And while she wasn’t planning on trying to escape, she didn’t blame them for being cautious.

_‘Hopefully I can get some_ real _answers this time around,’_ she thought as the car drove out of the neighborhood.

*****

When the car pulled in front of a different safe house, which had Dawn wondering just how many of them were in California, the two men escorted her into the mansion, and she entered a study, where she found James waiting by a table with a tea set on it.

“Seriously?” she asked, going over to the table. “You’re American, and yet you have tea just like the British?”

James chuckled and gestured to one of the chairs while he poured them both tea. Once they were both seated with their cups, he took a sip before speaking. “I suspect you have an idea of why I asked to see you.”

Dawn nodded, having to take a moment since the tea was strong. “Yes, and I’m sure it has to do with me being a Light-bearer,” she said, setting the cup down on its plate. “Will you _actually_ give me a straight answer this time? Especially after I went Lighting Lass _twice?_ ”

“I can give you _some_ answers,” James replied, smiling slightly at both her _Legion of Superheroes_ reference and her exasperated expression. “This isn’t something that’s easy to explain, I’m afraid, and while I’m not going to pull a Gandalf _exactly_ , there are still some things that I can’t share with you just yet.”

Dawn rolled her eyes and sipped her tea again. “Of course not,” she muttered. “Well, what can you tell me?”

“As you know, the Society Against Evil has been around for centuries,” James explained and the brunette nodded, “and the Light-bearers, which you are as well, have been around just as long.” He picked up a thick leather-bound book and opened it to a page that had what she recognized as her own family history, for both of her parents. “You, Dawn, are the current Light-bearer of _two_ of the twelve bloodlines of the Light-bearers, and we’ve known that you were one from the moment you were born. And as you can see, the Society has been watching over you and your ancestors for a very, _very,_ long time.”

Dawn was floored since she’d done quite a bit of family history research over the years, and she’d _never_ come across anything like _this._ Plus, this also meant that the Society Against Evil had been keeping tabs on her since she was a baby.

“But how?” she inquired, forehead furrowed. “I mean, I’ve done research on my family history, and nothing like this has ever popped up. Not even in the Family History Center in Salt Lake City, which is run by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and it’s one of the biggest research centers around.”

“The Society Against Evil is run by a council of elders that I and the other leaders answer to,” James explained. “And long ago, it was decided that the Light-bearer bloodlines weren’t to know of this particular part of their heritage when _certain_ society members tried to regulate the bloodlines, nearly wiping them out. It was during the time of your ancestor, Henry Clay, that this decision was made, and since then, the Light-bearers tend to be much stronger when they learn about the Light on their own. He was particularly insistent that none of his descendants would know the truth until they summoned the Light on their own, and given his position as both a Senator and a Freemason Grandmaster, there was no arguing with him.”

Dawn couldn’t help but snicker. “Probably not a lack for trying,” she guessed. “Stubbornness seems to run on both sides of my family.”

“Oh, it certainly does,” James agreed, picking up a scroll and opened it so that she could see that there was writing on it. “All Light-bearers are prone to stubbornness. Last year, after you, Joey, Eva, and Oli were rescued, the elders were wanting you to know the truth right away and start your training, but I wanted you and Joey to have time to recover and heal. Had I know that the Sorceress would take advantage of the Darkness that had been growing inside Joey, I would’ve told you this sooner.”

“If I’ve learned one thing from all my years growing up, and being an actress,” Dawn remarked, “is that there can’t really be a good time for something like this. But what does this have to do with Joey and I?”

James sighed and gestured to the scroll. “This has an ancient prophecy written on it, one that no one in the Society had really expected to actually occur, and after the incident at the 1920s house last year, we all started to suspect that it was coming true,” he explained. “And with the incident with the Sorceress, it’s clear that there’s a reason that this has happen twice to you both.”

Feeling uneasy, Dawn hesitantly looked at the prophecy and read it.

_When humanity has touched the stars and turmoil is strong._

_Two will be lured to a house built without hands by the evil._

_One will be an innocent while the other with be a Light-bearer._

_Neither will know of the evil or of the Light that she carries._

_Both will endure and survive the evil, along with two others._

_The innocent will be overcome by Darkness and taken away._

_The Light-bearer will search for the innocent and find him._

_Both will face the evil again, but only three will survive._

Dawn stopped reading and stared at James with wide eyes, especially since the rest of the writing was in a language that she didn’t know how to read. “And this prophecy is about Joey and myself?” she asked, feeling confused and conflicted.

James nodded. “Yes, and while I didn’t want it to be true, it is,” he confirmed. “The section you were able to read, it became readable after the second incident occurred, and I expect that the rest will become readable in time.”

“You make it sound like what happen twice, is going to happen again,” Dawn pointed out, and he nodded once again. “Oh come _on_ ,” she groaned. “Going through hell twice wasn’t enough? I can understand it happening to the characters that I play on TV shows and movies, but _real life?_ ”

“I wish that it wasn’t so,” James admitted regretfully. “But unlike these last two times, now that you can summon the Light, I have permission from the elders to help teach you and train you, if you want to.”

Dawn sighed. “A year ago, I would’ve said ‘no way’,” she said, shaking her head, “but after what happen this time, I’m going to say yes.” She and James were then surprised when a section of the scroll glowed, and some of the writing became readable. “Uh, was that suppose to happen?” she asked, staring at the scroll.

James shook his head, equally surprised, and they read the translated section together.

_When the evil of the Cursed God rises again._

_The Light-bearer and the innocent will reunite._

_Together, they will face the evil in a town._

_Eleven will join them, and one will be returned._

“Ok, that’s both confusing and informative,” Dawn said. “It sounds like Joey will be coming back to life. Is that possible?”

James shrugged. “It could be possible,” he agreed. “I’ll do some research on this, and see what I can come up with. Right now, you and I have a lot of work to do to prepare you for this next mission, whatever it happens to be.”

“Ok.”

*****

In a hidden location known only to the Society Against Evil, the coffin bearing Joey Graceffa’s body was intact, and so was Joey himself. Inside the coffin, the center gem on the Crown of Oblivion, which was still on Joey’s head, started glowing and flashed brightly, and his eyes snapped open as he took in a deep breath.

Joey was alive, and while he wasn’t entirely sure how, he knew that he had a mission to fulfill in order to remain alive.

The end…for now.

*****

_I have so many, so many regrets._

_So many lies, so many broken ties._

_I wish for my old life._

_Wish I could fix my strike._

_Cause no one truly escapes the night._

_Oh, won't you help me escape the night._

_Oh baby help me escape the night._

_Escape the night._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, am I blowing anyone's minds with how I just wrapped up this story? Let me know in the comments of what you thought was going to happen compared to what did happen. Bye for now! R&R everyone!

**Author's Note:**

> Why did they tell the Sorceress that she would need souls from the future and a Light-bearer to retrieve the gems? Why?
> 
> Anyway, I'll see you all next time with the first chapter. Bye for now! R&R everyone!


End file.
